This is Viewpoints for Thursday, July 23, 2015

My nomination for the worst phrase ever invented is “baby-daddy.” Not only is this phrase becoming more common, but it also seems to be perfectly acceptable nowadays. Not so for me. It seems to me that there are some men out there making babies with absolutely no consequences whatsoever. That is ridiculous. With the technology we have today (DNA testing) it is possible to determine paternity with certainty. These men should be tracked down and made to pay child support or go to jail. When they get out of jail they can pay the back support they owe or go back to jail. At least there they can’t make any more babies.

If these men were made to pay for their children, the mother would not need to get on the food stamp dole and receive other assistance. How many babies someone makes is none of my business. It is, however, my concern when my taxes are used to raise other people’s children. Food stamps should be used to help those who truly need assistance and not for a free ride. Make these men pay for their children. What’s the hold up?

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A couple of items in today’s Telegraph clearly illustrates the bias that you do not see (or refuse to see because you are so close to it). The stories about the black mob that trashed Wal-Mart conspicuously omitted the fact that the rioters were black. Now, I read a “staff report” story about a dog left in a van for a year and the writer points out that the police report failed to mention what kind of dog was left in the van or the make of the van. I can see where knowing if the dog was a Great Dane or a Chihuahua might be important, but taking pains to point out that the officer failed to identify the make of the van? Give me a break. You can’t have it both ways.

Next, in the Viewpoints page regarding Dwight Poole’s letter: If there is a letter that espouses a slightly different slant than the liberal left approves of, there is almost sure to be an editor’s note below. I do not ever remember seeing an editor’s comment added when there has been a blatant error in a letter that supports a left-leaning position. This is definitely a double standard, but I do rest assured that you are certainly not pandering to the majority of those people who pay for newspaper subscriptions and write checks for advertising dollars.

-- John Ricketson

Macon

Editor’s note

Thank you for the editorial note at the end of Dwight Poole’s letter. When I saw Poole’s latest exhibition of ignorance I said, to myself, “Oh crap, I’ve got to reply to this nonsense.” But, I didn’t have to reply because your, “The articles of secession clearly lay out the reasons for the war,” refutes his letter succinctly and precisely. To rely on Karl Marx and ignore what the leaders of the Confederacy wrote to back up his misguided revisionist history shows how desperate he is.